3 die, 1 missing in Pittsburgh flash flooding

Aug. 19, 2011 07:28 PMAssociated Press

PITTSBURGH - A pair of storms that pounded Pittsburgh on Friday cut electricity to hospitals and universities and submerged several vehicles in a flash flood that killed three people and left one missing and presumed dead.

Water from the Allegheny River overwhelmed drivers on Washington Boulevard in the city's Highland Park neighborhood, leading some motorists to swim to safety.

Rescue crews used inflatable boats to reach marooned drivers, some of whom said the water rose 6 feet and covered their vehicles. Bob Bailey, 79, of Penn Hills, was rescued from the roof of his car.

"I can swim a little bit and was looking at a tree branch," Bailey told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I heard one woman yelling for help, but the water was coming down so fast, I couldn't see. ... I've never seen nothing like this in my life. Lord have mercy."

The flooding occurred in the late afternoon after the city was drenched with up to 3 inches of rain in an hour, the National Weather Service reported.

The three victims, whose names were not released, were found in the same minivan, according to KDKA-TV.

A fourth person, a 70-year-old woman, was missing and presumed dead, Police Chief Nate Harper said at a news conference.

The water had receded by Friday evening, but mud-caked Washington Boulevard will remain closed through Saturday as emergency crews work to clear all the stranded cars.

Tara Howes, 34, of Gibsonia, told the Tribune-Review that "manhole covers started popping up and it looked like the road exploded and the waters came up really fast. I saw people swimming on the sides of the road. It was pretty scary."

The flash floods hit an area that experienced serious flooding last month. Claudia Gallagher, 55, of West Mifflin, was driving north on Washington Boulevard at the height of rainfall and tried to get off the road as the water rose.

"We tried to drive up onto the curb, but the water had other ideas," she told the Post-Gazette.

Her car began to float, and she opened her window and climbed onto the roof. Many other drivers nearby were sitting atop their cars, too, she said.

Earlier Friday, another storm caused power outages that led the University of Pittsburgh to close for the day. Parts of Carlow and Carnegie Mellon universities also lost electricity.

Flights at Pittsburgh International Airport were grounded because of lightning just after 3 p.m., spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said.

Two hospitals operated on emergency power after rains flooded a substation in the city's Oakland neighborhood.